


Skye's Fall (FFoZ S1E14)

by J_Shute



Series: The Fantastic Foxes of Zootopia [17]
Category: Zootopia (2016), アグレッシブ烈子 | Aggressive Retsuko | Aggretsuko (Anime)
Genre: Dating, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting to Know Each Other, Guilt, Hospitals, Hugs, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kisses, OC's and cameos aglore!, Soul-Searching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 13:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22156999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J_Shute/pseuds/J_Shute
Summary: On a routine date with friends, Skye has an accident, getting herself injured and needing care. Apparently...Being a rather self assured Vixen, however, she maintains that she doesn't need any help.That's perfectly fine for Jack, seeing as he doesn't think he needs to give her any, not that anyone else will listen to him.However, things will happen and the pair will soon find that they need each other very much, and don't ever want to let go. Expect humor, some angst, and then oodles of character development and Jack-Skye fluff aplenty.
Relationships: Haida/Retsuko (Aggressive Retsuko), Jack Savage/Skye
Series: The Fantastic Foxes of Zootopia [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1086153
Comments: 24
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**FFoZ S1E14**

**Skye’s Fall (Chapter 1)**

**.**

Night had fallen over the Rainforest District and the lights were coming on. Streetlights reflected on the puddles and cascades, window lights bounced off of the raindrops, while the reds and oranges of cars diffracted through the evening mist.

The most amazing lights though were at a formerly exclusive rodent sized resource, newly opened up for the wider and larger public. Larger mammals were visiting it for the first time, including a rather diverse set of four. A swift fox, a tehuantepec jackrabbit, a red panda and a spotted hyena.

“This place is magical,” Retsuko said, gasping as she looked around. They were walking alongside an illuminated water channel, the lights beneath it creating an azure glow below the wafting weeds. Every now and again they’d pass a small cascade, lights shining through it like a prism, a whole rainbow of colours the result. “Right under my nose the whole time and I never knew.”

“Heh,” Haida chuckled as he walked beside her. “It only opened last week or something. I only found out about it by chance.”

“Well, it’s been here for a while,” Skye added in, as she walked over to the side of the channel. It had been made out of jet-black slabs of rock and, looking closer, the vixen saw areas where lichens were growing, or where the sealing mortar was thin. “Hmmm… Quite a while in fact. Mustn’t have been open to the public.”

“Maybe this was an art project by some rich guy,” Retsuko mused, looking around. Fairy lights, twinkling and shining, hung above them like fireflies. “It’s a nice hobby to have.”

“Really put his back into it,” Haida commented, before turning down to the fourth member of their group. “Work of artistic passion, huh?”

Jack looked up and nodded. “I guess,” he said. He was taking it lazy today, just relaxing and looking around. “The surroundings are certainly nice, though I’m not sure if there’s a deeper meaning to it or anything.”

“Maybe he just wanted to make something pretty,” Retsuko chirped, smiling. “Something for everyone to enjoy.” Looking down, she noticed a rodent sized path, a small group of mice on bikes zipping along it. They went into a tunnel in the basalt channel and, peering into it, she could see them ride through a clear passageway beneath the stream, similar to the types seen in aquariums. They paused in there, just looking around, seeing the flow above them as it wafted the weeds back and forth.

“Well,” Jack said, a little flair in his voice. “You can make something very beautiful, or heart-rending, or exciting. But a nugget of some fundamental truth can always be slipped in there, acting as a rallying call to the viewers. Flaring their passions, or convincing them of something they didn’t even expect to be convinced of. A bit of work, and this whole thing could tell a story or stories, some deep narrative or philosophy. Enriching each piece of eye candy that we witness in our tour of it and ourselves at the end.”

His words rang out before fading, replaced by the slight babble of the stream. Haida, nodding along, looked at him, noting that the normally relaxed jackrabbit was a lot more perky than usual. “Had a coffee finally kick in?” he asked, smiling.

Jack looked up at him, a slight flash of indignation crossing his face. He stood up tall and boasted out. “The coffee kick of an artist in his passion,” he said in an exaggerated prideful tone, as if he were giving a retort to an insult. A little flicker of a smile though showed that he was just hamming it up.

Haida nodded, seeing it, and smiled along as he looked around. “I’m afraid I agree with Retsy. Things can just be pretty.”

“Maybe this artist was just seeing how far he could push that,” Skye offered. “I quite like it when mammals try and push things to the limits, see how far they can go.” She paused, looking around thoughtfully. “I’d be interested in seeing what this was like before the installation. If these were all existing features and the designer tried to push the limits on what could be done with them.”

“I don’t mind if this is all artificial,” Retsuko said, smiling as she saw a set of glowing lights float down past her. “I’m happy enjoying it here and now. It puts me in my happy place!” She went quiet as she watched the floating lights drift away, before a loud rumble rang out. Looking down, rubbing her stomach, she blushed slightly before looking at the others. “I’m also hungry.”

“Well,” Haida said, as he pulled up a picnic basket. “Good thing I prepared some stuff. There’s a place great for eating food further up and there’s no rainfall scheduled for later on, so we can take our time and enjoy it.”

The surrounding entourage nodded and off they went. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the spot in question. A circle of tiered stone steps surrounded a central pool, almost like an ancient coliseum. Groups of mammals had found places to sit here and there, enjoying a rest or food while enjoying the lights around them. Hundreds of colours flashed or morphed or even fluttered in the trees and air, while every now and then the running lights of a sky tram would trace this way or that across the open top of the glade. Even the water was bright, the shallow bed lit and ever shifting in its hue and tone. It was covered in mossy rocks, so only their edge lit up, but this added to the effect. When red or orange, the four mammals almost seemed to be looking over a bed of coals before the embers shifted again.

While entranced, the four still made their way to a nice spot and settled down, not that far from an empty pavilion designed for mice. Haida, opening his basket, brought out a mix of food. Some homemade, most store brought, but all treated with pride.

“The wraps are mine,” he clarified, as Skye held up a slightly uneven tortilla wrap. Sniffing it, she smelt something similar to pad-thai in there before taking a bite.

Satay chicken chunks, with a mix of salad stuff thrown in. Swallowing down she smiled. “Oooh, I like this. It’s nice.”

Haida let a goofy smile slip onto his face. “Thanks!” The smile only increased as Retsuko moaned beside him, eating her own wrap. Breaded and fried turkey cutlets had been cut up and put in, with salad stuff and tonkatsu sauce added. Looking at Jack, he picked up another wrap and passed it over. “This is the same as hers, only it uses tempeh instead of turkey. Unlike the meat, I had to bread and fry it myself.”

Jack sniffed the meal and took a bite, smiling as he enjoyed it while Haida gave a fist pump. Swallowing it down, he smiled. “Nice. I grew up on fried pepper and bean wraps, but this is a clever twist.”

Haida nodded, confident and happy, and he helped himself as the four ate. The wraps were tackled, as were the nibbles and deserts, though it was clear there was a lot left over.

“Guess that’s the next few days food,” Skye commented.

“Yeah,” Haida said, as he pulled out a cupcake, a few attempts at decoration sprinkled on the top. “I was actually worried that I hadn’t made enough.”

Retsuko giggled. “You forgot we’re not hyena’s, didn’t you?”

The hyena in question laughed a little before shaking his head. “Retsuko, I’m not that ditzy. I just wanted enough in case Jack and Skye invited the nighthowler heroes too.”

“Ah,” his girlfriend said, nodding in agreement. “I guess they couldn’t come.”

“I asked Jack if it was okay. I guess they couldn’t make it.” He looked over at the striped bunny, who lazily shrugged.

“They said it was too short notice and they were already booked,” he said, as he opened up a tuple ware case and began sampling the fruit salad within.

“I asked you a week ago,” Haida pointed out, before looking at his friend a bit sceptically. “You did ask them, right?”

Jack closed his eyes, holding himself aloofly. “I most certainly did.”

Looking at him and smirking, Skye spoke. “When?”

“Why,” he defended. “I gave them plenty of time. Enough time to ship a chosen good across the continent to any mammal’s home, to travel around our planet itself, to…”

“So yesterday,” Skye teased.

…

“Early yesterday,” Jack defended astutely.

“Hmmmm…” Haida grumbled a little. “Couldn’t you have done it earlier?”

Jack rolled his eyes. “I just kept slipping, I still got it to them in the end.”

“Well next time I’ll ask Skye or call them myself,” he said, Retsuko nodding in agreement.

“I do want to meet them,” the red panda said happily. “I’ve heard a lot of good stuff about Nick Wilde.”

There was a slight coughing, and three of them turned to face Skye. She looked at Retsuko, a bit confused, before swallowing down her food. “This is the same Nick Wilde, right?”

“Uh-hu,” Retsuko chirped. “One of my co-workers actually volunteers to help him on undercover missions and he says he’s a great guy.”

“Right,” Skye said, nodding. “Just… -I knew him for a long time, though he may have changed a lot…” She trailed off, trying to find the words. “Just be prepared for him to not quite live up to the hype.”

Retsuko looked at her, thinking slightly. “I’ll keep an open mind,” she said, “but I still want to meet him.”

“Me to!” Haida agreed. “And Judy Hopps.”

“She is something,” Jack agreed, as Skye prowled over to him.

“Not that they’d get to find out with you dealing with that stuff,” she said softly, sitting down next to him.

“Well, that’s not what I’m here for,” he said, a coy look in his muzzle as he leant back onto the fox’s chest. He knew what she was wanting and he had no qualms about giving it. Right on que, a paw pad began massaging his ear, then a full paw, as Skye began a little petting.

“No, it isn’t,” she said, smiling a little. Looking down at him, he was _exceedingly_ petable right then, and she had no qualms about indulging that silly misfiring instinct anymore. He wiggled a bit closer to her, and she cosied up around him, and they indulged each other.

They were also indulging Haida and Retsuko, who were enjoying the spectacle. She was a bit self-conscious, being in a public area, but she pushed through that as she walked back and sat down in Haida’s lap. The hyena was all too happy to pet her too, his face practically glowing as he did so. There was even a rhythmic beat coming from behind him as his tail wagged back and forth intently, so intently that it knocked into Retsuko’s phone, the device put on the ground for safe keeping, and knocked it right across the ground and up against the rodent sized pavilion.

“I’ll get it,” Skye announced before anyone else could react. Letting Jack go, she walked over and grabbed it, pausing as she saw a little notice on the property. Squinting in, she began reading it, just as Haida turned up.

“What does it say?”

“It’s just a foreclosure notice,” she said. “Something about back taxes…”

Haida nodded, before his eyes widened. Peaking in, he read it closer. “Hey, guess what Retsy?”

“Yes Haida?”

“This place here was owned by the guy we busted!”

“You mean the crime lord?” she asked, walking over. Staring at the little notice, her eyes widened. “So it was.”

“Maybe that’s why this place was locked up so much,” Haida mused. “It was his private place.” That smile then grew into a grin as he looked around. “We’re the ones who opened this to the world. Go heroes!”

“Yeah!” Retsuko chirped, smiling too.

Jack and Skye looked on, happy for their friends. “Guess it feels good,” he said.

“Yeah,” Haida chuckled, as he moved back to the picnic basket and began to pack things away, they were mostly done here anyhow. “The money we got is good too!”

“Yup,” Retsuko chirped. “It came in and it’s official. But being a hero does feel awesome.”

Skye nodded as she tidied the last of their things away. Checking that they had everything, they slowly began making their way off. “I guess you’ll be doing more of that if you move to this tax investigator firm you were talking about.”

“Uh-hu,” Haida agreed. “Though it’ll be a wait for some slots to open up. The guy in charge said that a few of his workers are retiring in less than a year and the slots will be open for us.”

“So, still some time to endure under your bad boss,” Skye noted, knowing the stories.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

“Unless…” Retsuko began, a slight tease in her voice.

Haida perked up a little and looked down at her. “Are we…” he said, waving his paw a little.

She smiled. “Why not!?”

“Why not what?” Skye asked.

“Tell them,” Retsuko added.

Even Jack was getting curious. “Tell us what?”

“Okay,” the hyena agreed, coming to a stop. They were on the lowest tier of stones, the girls together at the edge and Jack just besides them. Climbing up a few steps, Haida looked down proudly. “Fenneko was looking around and stumbled upon a detective apprenticeship scheme, for training PI’s. With the money that just came in padding our wages until we qualify, we’re thinking of applying!”

The other pair gasped, looking at each other, before Skye turned to Retsuko.

“They actually have a lack of people who can process financial data, which is where most of the evidence can come from. They even said they’d push us through and qualify us quickly.”

“We’d more be consulting between different PI’s,” Haida added, “at a very high rate.”

“While Fenneko will be doing a lot of internet research and scanning,” the red panda finished off. “She can do crazy things with social media.”

“Crazy and scary,” her boyfriend added, before shivering. “Very scary.”

Skye looked between them, gasping, before a big smirk grew on her muzzle. She snuggled right up against Retsuko, giving her a big pat on the back. “Yeah! That sounds incredible,” she said. “And I absolutely know what you mean about finances and spreadsheets. The armed forces have exactly the same problem. If you’ve checked everything, you could really go places.”

“If it’s your dream, do it!” Jack added.

Haida crossed his arms, a proud smile on his face. “We certainly plan to,” he said, before jumping off and down to the others, his foot-paws hitting the ground; the ground immediately sinking with him, the loose stone he’d landed on seesawing under his weight and flinging the two girls at the end up in the air and over the reflecting pool.

“RETSUKO!” he cried in horror as the two fell, feet and arms waving as they hit the shallow pool, its surface riven with stones. Retsuko landed on all fours, her paws trying to grip but slipping as they landed on the wet moss-covered rock. A flash of pain came from her front left one, though they slowed her down. Chest hitting the water, she felt the rocky surface punch her in the gut, winding her and shaking her… But she was okay.

And then she heard the scream behind her.

Looking over, she saw Skye, her foot paws on the ground and in the middle of a splash, tumble to the side. Her arms went out and scattered the rocks where she fell as she too ended up face first in the water. Getting up, the red panda winced from the pain in her left arm, the throbbing getting worse. Still, she made a few steps over to her friend, the swift fox now on her side, clutching her right leg hard. Her eyes were welded shut, her teeth gritted, pained sobs leaking out as she inhaled. Sniffing, almost cursing under her breath, her face was riven in pain.

“Skye,” Retsuko began, before a splash rang out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a terrified Haida striding up across the water, kicking up spray as he went. No time for talk, he swooped in, picking her up in one fell swoop. Before she even knew what had happened, she was being carried along as he brought down his other arm and scooped Skye up. He held her against his chest, Skye wincing as her tight leg was bent against it.

“GAHHH!!!!!”

The pain filled cry sent a shiver down her spine and left Haida reeling. For a moment she almost felt that she was going to be dropped, only for her boyfriend to steady himself and Skye as he began making his way out.

“I’m sorry!” he gasped, panting as he picked up the pace. “I’m sorry! I didn’t… I didn’t mean to! I…” he broke off a bit as he began to sniff. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he whimpered. Reaching the edge of the pool, he climbed out, Retsuko noticing a shocked looking Jack staring out at them. There wasn’t much he could do…

“Call an ambulance!” Haida shouted, his voice cracking. “And now! -Not next week, NOW!”

The hare pulled out his phone and began dialling as they set off. “I’m… I’m taking you two to the entrance,” he said, as he began speeding up. Retsuko grabbed him tight with her good arm, her bad paw pulsing with pain. Whipping through the forests, past the lights and trees and pretty sculptures faster than she could take them in, she realised she was crying. Looking up, she saw that Haida was too.

And then she looked at Skye.

She could already see her leg swelling up badly, and her eyes and lips were welded shut, her muzzle and face riven with folds. She was trying so hard to hold it in, but still it escaped. Tears trickling from her eyes, the whimpers from her muzzle, the pained way she breathed.

Haida was breathing too, fast and rough, out of breath but pushing on. She saw the entrance to the gardens coming up and an ambulance there and waiting and, before she could register what was happening, she and Skye were passed over.

“We’ll…” Haida began, his voice cutting out as he took a deep wheezing breath in.

“-Can you sit,” one of the crew asked, the red panda not really noticing who.

“Yes,” she answered, almost automatically. She didn’t really think about it, it just came out. Everything was such a daze.

“-Follow!” Haida finished, shouting out and catching her attention.

“Haida!”

“I’m… I’m…” he began, still catching his breath.

Retsuko didn’t know what to say, her tongue caught. But she looked at him, how he looked at her with guilt and fear, and she felt a shiver go down her spine. She opened her mouth to speak out, but it was too late. Skye was in, and the doors slammed shut as she shouted.

“It’s not your fault!”

…

Everything seemed to go oddly quiet for a second or two, the calm before the storm. With a fit, the engine rumbled to life and the ambulance jolted and shook as they set off. Skye was moaning, “Ow’s” and “Ouches” being her main response to the first round of questions. The medics began getting her some pain relief, asking Retsuko if she needed anything herself.

She said yes, but didn’t really think about it.

It was just an automatic response.

She was thinking about her boyfriend, the guilt riven self-hating imagine of him that she’d last seen stuck hauntingly in her mind.

.

.

.

“Stupid. Stupid. STUPID!!!!!”

Jack’s ears were drooped with worry. First it had been for his girlfriend and Retsuko, but right here and now it was for the red panda’s boyfriend.

“STUPID!!!!” he shouted, as he slammed his head hard against the side of their zuber. Retsuko lived locally, Haida a few transit stops away, while Skye had driven Jack here. While Haida did have a license he wasn’t insured for Skye’s car and even if he was she’d left with the keys. So, zuber it was. Leaning down, he clutched his brow tightly, his stupor only broke, slightly at that, when he felt a paw on his side. Jack. The Hyena looked over at him and shrugged. “You can do it.”

“Do what?” Jack asked.

“Hit me,” he snorted, sounding miserable. “I deserve it.”

Jack looked at him. His fur and clothes were messy from his run, his face riven with emotional pain, and he looked like the most pathetic specimen in the world. Jack couldn’t have punched him even if he wanted to. “No, you don’t and I’m not going to.”

“Right,” he grunted. “Because you’re lazy and can’t be bothered. Don’t worry though, I’ll take care of it.”

Before Jack could stop him, Haida pulled out his paw and slapped himself hard on his head. There was a slight pause, before he gave himself three more hits, each harder than the last. Jack looked on worried, not sure if he should intervene or not. After all, could he even hold the hyena’s paw back?

Better not.

He winced though as another strike hit Haida. It rang out so hard that there was a slight shudder, the driver slowing down to a stop and looking back at them. Looking at the horse in front, Jack spoke. “He jumped on a loose paving stone and it launched our girlfriends into the air. Now they’re injured, and he wants to join them.”

“Pah,” Haida snorted. “I don’t deserve that. I should just walk into the rain, catch pneumonia again and die. There, I deserve that!”

The horse turned to face Haida, before double taking him. “Déjà vu,” he muttered, before shaking his head. “Now listen, the way I hear it, it was a pure accident.”

“Caused by me,” Haida cursed. “I went in like a big damn clutz and ruined everything! Heh… Retsuko’s mother was right. She’d be better with anyone except me.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” the driver said. “Listen, I’ve been in that guilty place, it’s not nice.”

“Tchhhh…” Haida dismissed. “Well I deserve it!”

The driver snorted, his nostrils flaring. He turned forward again and the car pulled out, driving onwards once more. “Well I thought that too. But sometimes you can’t call the shots or stop the ones in charge, the ones higher up, the ones behind the real pain from causing it. You couldn’t have seen it; you couldn’t have done anything. Be angry at them. Not yourself.”

…

“Passing the buck,” he muttered, before knocking his head against the side again.

Jack looked on concerned. Maybe there wasn’t anything he could do physically to stop the hyena from beating himself up, but mentally? Using his own skill sets? What the horse said had given him a little streak of inspiration.

“Haida?”

“Punching request still open,” he said, bearing the side of his arm.

“Do you know how many paving stones and slabs and all sorts I walk on every day?” the Jackrabbit asked, raising his voice. No longer timid, or playing about, it was loud and fierce.

“Huh?” Haida asked, perking up. He looked at Jack, confused. “I guess a lot…”

“Damn right a lot! There’s a lot of them in this damn city! We rely on them! For holding our weight and letting us walk about!”

“I suppose…”

“’ _Suppose’_ ” Jack mocked, before snorting and giving Haida a light hit on the arm. Not a real one, just enough to drive the point across. As he rubbed where he’d been hit, the hare got louder, angrier and shoutier. “It’s our right! Our birthright as Zootopians! That we can walk where we want, our feet dry and free from stones and pebbles and all sorts! It’s our right that the ground beneath our feet is safe and secure! THAT is the very minimum we should expect!”

“I guess,” Haida mused, Jack silently congratulating himself. The hyena was taking the bait.

“The very minimum, and we should be able to jump about and go do-lally without so much as a tremor! This city has codes and rules and regulations, and mammals are paid… WITH OUR MONEY to test these. If anything goes wrong, it’s on their watch!”

“Yeah…” Haida agreed, nodding along.

“But those bastards think they can fleece us! Think they can take our money, and still let our dear ones come to harm! They think they can get away with that!”

“Yeah, screw those guys!”

“Screw them? That’s just the start!”

“Just that start?”

“Just the start,” Jack said, feeling the passion of the act flow through him. “Do you know what we’re going to do?”

“No. Tell me.”

“Well,” Jack said, growling and roaring, fury in him. “We’re going to stand up, open the window and shout out: I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GONNA TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!”

“DAMN RIGHT I AM!” Haida shouted back, as he turned around and pressed the window button. There was a roar from the air flowing outside and a repetitive thudding filled the car, carrying on as the window fully opened and Haida stuck his head out, right as a truck came the other way. “I’M MAD AS HELL, AND I’M…”

_SPLASH…._

…

“Wet,” Haida remarked, as he slipped back in the car, his face soaked with water and leaves. Staring forwards, one of his paws absently pressed the button to raise the window back up.

…

“Got any towels?” he asked out loud. “I am not going to catch pneumonia again.” There was a ruffling from the front and one was thrown his way. Catching it with one paw, he began drying his face, only to pause half way. “Uh-oh…”

“What?” Jack asked.

Haida gulped. “The girls got wet. What if they get pneumonia!? It’s all my fault.”

.

.

.

.

It wasn’t long before they arrived in the waiting room, picking a chair and asking a receptionist to keep them informed. The pair sat down, Haida swallowing some painkillers he’d picked up. He’d got a headache.

“I deserve it,” he mumbled.

Jack ignored him. It was futile, an exercise as pointless as trying to clean up his office. Cheer Haida up, he’d then just drag himself down, so why bother in the first place?

.

.

He was crying.

.

Jack ignored him.

.

He worried about the girls, though. Skye seemed more injured than Retsuko. How bad was it?

.

.

…

Haida was still crying.

…

“It’s not that bad.”

“Yes, it is,” the hyena cursed, looking down. He kicked the floor, before sniffing. “I’ve ruined it. Everything.”

“No, you haven’t.”

“Yes, I have!”

Jack groaned. “You’re making yourself sound like a monster.”

“Tchhh…” Haida chided, trembling as he did so. “Maybe I am.”

“It was an accident!”

“I hurt them,” he shouted. His voice echoed across the room, and Jack couldn’t help but hear whispers and rumours start to spread about.

Jack cleared his throat, before speaking twice as loud. “Your weight hurt them by levering up a badly installed bit of pavement. It was an accident. You’re not some monster or criminal.” Pausing and listening in, he heard new comments sprout up, almost all of them out of sympathy.

“They wouldn’t have been hurt if I wasn’t in the picture,” he muttered. “I… I know I didn’t know about the stone, but I feel I should have. I know that I’m not a criminal, but I feel like one. I feel like this, and I can’t shake it off.”

“Then suck it up.”

“I…” Haida began, only to pause. There was an odd quiet as he thought, before seeming to relax. “You’re right,” he said. Jack’s ears rose, that sounded almost wistful. A slight chuckle came out of him, and he shook his head. “I really need to get myself together.”

“See,” Jack said, smiling. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“It still was,” Haida clarified. “I still bare responsibility for it. More than anyone.” He trailed off, looking away. He shuddered as he breathed in, before clenching his hands together resolutely. “But that means I’ve got to put it right, and I’ve got to hold myself together if I’m going to do that.”

Jack looked at him, confused. “It isn’t your responsibility; you don’t have to put it right.”

“Well who else will?” Haida countered. “Retsuko might not be able to work, or look after herself. I’m her boyfriend, it’s my job to care for her. -Skye might be the same for that matter, she might need you to care of her.”

“Yeah, and… -Hang on!” Jack remarked, his eyes going wide. “I thought you were the one responsible, though you’re not, so why do I have to look after Skye?”

Haida was silent for a second or two, his mouth part open. “Our girlfriends get hurt, and you think we both don’t have any responsibilities to them?” he asked, scolding Jack a little. “You think that’s cool? Because I don’t.”

The hare shook his head and scowled. “You’re saying that, even though you blame yourself for this, I should help out.”

“It’s not about who’s to blame,” he said, looking away a little. “Think about it. Both Retsuko and Skye need someone who knows and cares for them looking after them. Me, Retsuko. You, Skye. And, yes, I have a further responsibility. If you need help or anything, or bills to be paid, I’d be happy to sub you. Maybe you can have that basket I made, all the leftovers… You do have it, right?”

“No.”

Haida rolled his eyes. “I’ll phone the club. They have Skye’s car, after all.” Standing up, he began to walk out, grabbing his phone. Before he did so, he turned around to look at Jack. “It’s my duty to help you help her,” he said. “But it’s your duty to help her. That’s what being a boyfriend means.”

And, with that, Haida left, leaving Jack alone.

Thinking…

…

“Maybe your kind of boyfriend,” Jack commented. “But Skye and I are casual…”

…

One of his eyes twitched, and he shook his head. “Okay, I’ll check she’s alright. But it’s not like she’ll need help anyway.”

.

.

“I hope she’s okay though…”

.

.

…

Looking up, he saw Haida come back inside, only to freeze where he stood. “Retsuko!”

“Haida!” shouted a familiar voice, and Jack saw the red panda race out from a doorway and right into his paws.

“I missed you,” she cried, as he lifted him up. Holding her like a baby, she wrapped her arms around his neck, Jack noticing that one was in a torsion bandage.

He smiled as he held her, but one sniff, then a second, escaped him. “I’m so sorry…”

“It’s not your fault,” she said.

“It…” he began, before breaking off. He held her away from him, smiling. “Whether it was or wasn’t, I’ll be here to look after you,” he said, before giving her a light peck on her nose. She giggled back.

“It’s only a light sprain,” she said.

“I’ll be here to look after you,” he promised, looking at her and smiling. She looked back at him, their gaze lingering, and with her good arm she reached back to fuss his ears and head fur.

“Thanks, Haida,” she said, before pulling herself closer. His eyes widened and hers closed as their lips collided, meeting and kissing as the two embraced. He held her closer, paws gripping her back and rump, even as her tail beat into them. She clutched the back of his head tight, keeping up the pressure. Haida segued into it, his eyes closing, and their mouths and tongues danced, sparking like electricity as they flowed against one another, nipping and perking the odd tooth once in a while.

They parted, Haida holding his girlfriend over his shoulder, trembling slightly as he did so. “Wha… What was that for?”

“For you, silly,” she whispered.

“Hu… -Hu-Ha,” he giggled, beaming about. “I love you so much.”

Retsuko nodded, snuggling into him, before slipping away. Landing on her two feet, she noticed Jack in the distance and then looked around, getting more and more frantic. “Where’s Skye?”

Haida’s grin faltered. “She… We still don’t know.”

He looked down, only to flinch as Retsuko held his paw. “It’s not your fault.”

He nodded and, together, they sat down next to Jack and waited.

.

.

.

“I got a text from the place,” Haida noted. It had close to an hour since Retsuko had been discharge, the red panda currently sleeping on his lap. “They’re keeping her car, and the hamper. You can keep both though.”

…

Tweaking his muzzle a little, Haida looked down, spotting a sleeping Jack next to him. He sighed. “And I had a good joke lined up too…”

“What joke would that be then?” Looking up, Haida spotted a bespectacled blue-eyed red fox in medical scrubs and a red scrub cap waiting for them. “I believe you’re here for a Miss Skye Autumn?”

Blinking a few times, Haida nodded, before vigorously shaking the two smaller mammals next to him awake. “Yes, how is she?”

“She’s awake and lucid, though tired, and has asked to see you three. We can discuss her state there.”

Slipping off Haida’s lap, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she did so, Retsuko smiled. “Lead the way.”

That he did, quickly taking them into the warren of corridors, rooms and passageways, giving little information as he went. All he really said was that his name was Daz. Entering a lift, he pressed the up button before watching the doors close. “Now we’re in a private area, I can state that she underwent local surgery,” he said, collecting gasps from the others.

“I… I…” Haida began, pausing to find the right words. “Is she okay?”

“Now, yes,” Daz said. “Before we applied the local anaesthetic she was still in some pain, but afterwards fine.” He paused, chuckling a little. “I’ve had patients under local make jokes in the past, but never one offer to help before.”

“That’s Skye,” Jack said, piquing the fox’s attention. “Did she also ask to be left alone with a set of instructions and how to do it?”

Daz sniggered a bit. “Once we said no she laid back silently, letting us do our job… -Though not before clarifying that her offer wasn’t due to any lack of faith in us, ‘Spider-Pig surgical cap related or otherwise.’”

Haida’s interest piqued as he paid attention to the cap in question, but any questions were cut off as the door opened, Daz leading them on once more. “She’s just down here, and…” he began, turning into an open ward before pausing. “She… was… there…” he muttered, looking at an empty bed. The others were occupied, the mammals in them sleeping or minding their own business, but none of them were the missing swift fox. Daz looked over to a lynx patientr, currently watching a video on her phone, a pair of headphones covering her ears. “Esso, have you seen the new patient anywhere?”

…

“Esso?” he asked again, louder this time.

The lynx looked up and frowned. “One, I don’t snitch. Two, you owe me a pudding cup.”

“Not that I actually agreed to that bet,” the red fox grumbled. The trio behind him looking at each other nervously for a second or two before the sound of a flushing toilet rang out, Daz striding over and standing by a wooden door, rapping it intently. “Miss Autumn, is that you?”

“Hang on a sec,” Skye called out from inside.

His eyes narrowed. “I asked you to rest.”

“I just needed the toilet,” she said, the sound of a tap running briefly coming out.

“You could have called a nurse with a bed pan.”

“I didn’t want to cause a fuss for anyone,” Skye said, as the handle was pulled down. “Besides, I can do this myself.”

“Yes, and if you put your recovery back, that’s on you,” he retorted, stepping back as the door opened and Skye exited. Her good foot stepped out, and then two crutches hit the ground, Haida gasping as she saw her other one in a cast.

“Oh god,” he said, his voice wavering. “I’m so sorry, I…”

“-It wasn’t your fault,” she said, smiling as she scooted back over to her bed. Daz followed her, insisting that she let him help her back up, while Haida replied.

“I know it wasn’t, but I feel like it was,” he said.

“Well don’t. After all, I’m the one who didn’t land right,” she said softly, before cutting herself off as Daz denied any attempts for her to refuse help, lifting her onto the bed before she could protest. She glanced around nervously, her ears folding down onto the back of her head and tail wrapping around her legs, before her gaze moved over to Retsuko.

“How’s the paw?”

“Lightly sprained, but it’ll get better,” she said, sadly. “It’s a better state than your leg.”

Skye nodded as Daz cleared his throat. “Mind if I give them the overview?” She nodded, and he turned to face the others. “I’m afraid she hit the ground at an angle and has, regrettably, broken her ankle,” he explained, earning a gasp from the crowd. “The good news is that it was only a small break in the fibula, which is the secondary leg bone. Under local anaesthetic we put in a small pin to hold it in position, while a cast will hold and secure her foot until it heals.”

“How long will that be?” Skye asked.

“Six to eight weeks, in which you need to rest and take it easy.” He turned to the others and looked up to Haida. “Though I’m pretty sure she’s in good paws.”

The hyena coughed a little. “I’m not…”

“Ah, sorry,” Daz said, before stepping to the side. “Even the best of us misjudge every now and again, I’ve experienced it myself in past relationship. But hey, having played both teams before let me say that your paws will be just as good as his are.”

…

Retsuko blushed, an awkward look on her face. “Third time lucky,” she said, trying to sound cheerful.

“Right!” Daz agreed, moving over to Jack and shaking his paws. “Well, I’m happy to say that she’s in equally, equally good paws,” he said, before pausing. “Now, I guess you lot can discuss arrangements for her discharge tomorrow. I, uhh… -Anyone want some tea?”

Retsuko nodded. “Some green tea would be lovely, thanks.”

“We have black.”

“Any other colours?”

“…Well, I guess that depends on how much milk you put in it.”

Retsuko looked unconvinced, an awkward silence filling the room until Haida spoke up. “Oh, Skye, they’re keeping your car there, and you can keep the remains of the hamper.”

Skye smiled. “Thanks. That’s very kind of you.”

“Well,” Haida said, “after what you went through, I thought you deserved to keep the car.” There were a short set of laughs all around as he leant over to Daz. “And that was the joke.”

“Ta,” the fox said, looking past them to his other patients. “Want anything? Regina? Harper? Esso?” A few requests were given by them, before he turned back to the visitors. “I’ll leave you guys to catch up. Best wishes and, remember,” he began, looking over at Jack. “She’ll need lots of care and rest. You’ll need to help her with a lot of things around the house where you can. Good luck.”

With that, he left, leaving the group standing there. It was late, they were tired, and Retsuko asked if she and Haida could leave. He offered to go to her place, to help out while her paw was at its worst, and she accepted. So, Jack and Skye were left alone, the only sounds being from the other patients, and an odd member of staff.

Jack looked up at her. “I’m pretty sure you’re fine by yourself, right?”

“Oh totally,” she agreed. “This is nothing, I can handle it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

.

**AN: Sorry for the lack of an update last week. That should be a one-off event. I’d like to thank Ubernomer for proofing this chapter (and the rest of this episode).**

.

“Oh totally,” she agreed. “This is nothing; I can handle it.”

She could easily not not handle it.

Discharged the next day, she went home before arriving at Jack’s theatre the day after. He’d just finished the first round of rehearsals when the clicking of her crutches on the floor filled the room.

“Ah, Skye,” he said, turning over and smiling. Using her crutches, the swift foxe was moving swifter than normal as she approached the stage. “I’m afraid you missed the first rehearsal.”

Her head cocked a little. “There was one on?”

“Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“You never said there was a rehearsal.”

Jack paused; mouth piqued in thought. “I guess I didn’t, I just thought I did when you turned up.”

“Nope,” she said, as she reached the foot of the stage. Looking at the step up, she set her eyes on a small staircase in the corner and began heading over. “Just here to finish the job.”

“I thought it was done, the stage is fixed.”

“Well, I need to do some testing and any final tweaks,” she explained, coming up to his level. “I don’t usually have any snagging problems, but that’s no excuse.”

Striding over, she stood in front of Jack and smiled, the hare’s gaze lowering down to her foot cast. “Isn’t that one?”

Her eyes half lidded. “I can manage Jack,” she said evenly, before scooting past, over to the control panel. Opening it up, beginning to experiment with the levers and buttons, she turned back to the hare. “How did the rehearsal go, by the way?”

“Oh brilliantly!” Jack replied, suddenly enthused. “It was excellent, brilliant. Finally seeing all those I sought out step into their roles for the first time. It’s like a baby’s first steps, almost. Moving along, wobbling, but you can’t help but look on in wonder.  _ Yes _ , some mammals did fall down. But you learn things from that. I mean one actor had a slight niggle when saying one of the lines. A stutter, almost. Now this was a fairly bland side character by himself, little more than a guide rail for the main plot. But, on seeing that little stutter, I realised I could do something with him! Have him stutter a few more times in a few times. A little bit of dialogue and, voila! A character trait. A vulnerability. Something to make the audience latch on and care about this otherwise unimportant character.”

“So, turning it from a bug to a feature,” Skye said, interested. “I tend to just focus on squishing them.”

“Skye,” he said boastfully, raising himself up a little. His eyes closed proudly, and an aloof lecturing finger pointed to the ceiling. “The best creatives are always swift on their feet.”

“Says the laziest mammal I know,” she teased back.

Keeping his hammy little act up, he added a little faux outrage to the mix. “Skye, I happen to only be lazy in non-important things in life. Mainly everything other than my calling.”

“I still think that’s being lazy,” she said, glancing back to see him turn up his nose. There was a little upturn of his mouth though, so it was all in good humour.

“And you happen to be the least swift swift fox I know.”

“Do you know any other swift foxes?”

“I, for one, happen to think that that’s irrelevant to the matter at paw!”

Smiling, Skye rolled her eyes as she brought out a voltmeter. It was a little tricky using it, but she kept most of her weight on her good foot, the rest going through her elbow and into a crutch. It meant the device had to be kept stationary, her other paw attaching the crocodile clips and probes before returning to tweak the selection wheel. “P-D is normal, current normal,” she said to herself, before moving onto the next phase.

_ -Of the task at paw, not a different electrical one _ , she joked to herself, smiling a little. Jack, meanwhile, was lying back on his deckchair, watching her work.

…

“You know,” he mused, “if Haida were here, he’d be going  _ ‘It’s your duty to help out your girlfriend. Maybe you should be doing that for her. _ ’”

She smiled. “Sounds about right.”

Jack nodded, only for an odd feeling to creep into him. It was almost like he owed her his aid, even though he knew full well that she didn’t want it. “You sure you’re fine?”

“Yes,” she said, sounding a bit like a teenager as she did so. “I’m fine.”

He nodded back. Good. There. Issue settled.

…

Then why did he still feel this way? It was dumb. Said feeling wouldn’t please either of them, yet still it kept nagging. Was this what had plagued Haida that night, when he’d been beating himself up in the car? If it was, then he was most certainly going to ignore it.

Finishing her work at the control panel in question, Skye began scooting over to the other side, talking as she walked. “I get why he’s doing that and, from what I’ve heard, he’s been looking after Retsuko really well. Her paw is supposed to be mostly better now, anyway.”

“You called them?” he asked.

“She called me, she just wanted to see if I was okay,” she said, pausing to look at him. “He is a real sweetie, but I think that kind of care would drive me up the wall.” She chuckled a little. “Even Retsuko said that she was feeling like she wanted to do a few more things herself, she had to tell him to calm down a little.”

“I’m literally doing nothing,” Jack said, “and you have to do that to me.”

“Yup,” she said, rolling her eyes. “They have a different kind of relationship. He cares and loves her, she does back. That’s great for them, but we’re different. I can hold my own, but enjoy a little bunny therapy now and again. You’re happy to give that, and I don’t need more. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Nope,” Jack agreed, feeling better again. “Speaking of bunny therapy...?”

“Not on the job,” Skye said with a smile. She turned and scooted off, testing another panel. “Anyway, got a few jobs I want to finish before the weekend. Some work on a car, doing a lot of filing and such that I’ve let build up, getting something nice for a friend.”

“I guess that’s a gift to Retsuko and Haida.”

“No,” she said, carrying on her work. “An old family friend is having a new baby and hosting a baby shower. I have a few ideas of what to get and such.”

Jack nodded. “Okay then.”

He trailed off as he watched Skye carry on her work. It was just a few checks and tests, but she sailed through them quickly and efficiently. Jack meanwhile told some more stories of the rehearsal, such as how he’d decided to reallocate a few of the roles, swapping the actors around after seeing them in action. Time flew, and soon enough she gave the systems a clean bill of health.

“Good to hear,” Jack replied.

“Yep,” she said, flexing her fingers before gripping her crutches once more. She looked at Jack for a second or two before nervously looking around. “You know,” she whispered, “now that the job is done, maybe there is a bit of time for bunny therapy.”

A grin grew on the hare’s muzzle. “I think I’m always motivated for a bit of that.”

Her smile growing, Skye looked over to the door to his office. “Let’s find somewhere private, shall we?”

They walked over to his office, Jack letting himself in and, unable to walk across the floor given the piles of rubbish covering it, hopped over to his chair. Skye followed, but paused at the threshold. Despite the mountains of litter and the difficulty from her crutches, she was at least part sure that she could get over all of it to him…

But the smell had put her completely out of the mood.

“What?” Jack groaned.

“I…” Skye began, before sniffing a few times, one pungent aroma in particular standing out. Walking over, taking care with her crutches, she leant down over a non-descript cup before gagging. She stood back up, ram-rod straight, and loosened one paw from her crutches so she could plug her nose. “Was that originally cola?”

“I don’t know,” Jack said with a shrug. “Ask Nick, he checked it last.”

Skye looked at him and around the room, before backing off a bit. “Maybe I can have some bunny therapy later,” she said, still sounding a bit unsure. “See you around, Jack.”

Jack nodded. “Bye.”

“Bye,” she replied, backing off and closing the door.

…

Jack grunted. His room wasn’t that bad!

Besides, as he always said, why clean a room that will just get dirty again?

It was a Sisyphusian task, futile by its very nature. The smart guys like him knew that the only way to win was not to play.

.

The next day went well. There was plenty to do relating to the new production, now that everything was finally in order. After reassigning his actors the day before, he had them check their new lines and start doing the read offs. Hearing the voices to his artwork was always a mixed bag. By all means it was great, but at the same time there was a slight dissonance. He’d given all the names on his script voices, inflections, personalities, and so much of that came to life here. Yet there were differences, alterations, changes…

With the actors playing them, such was to be expected. There were many things that he could run with, which he hadn’t thought of and now helped to further that character, or open up a new aspect of him. Other things that threw him a little and, in some cases, things that were fundamentally different.

His creation was coming to life before his eyes, yet it wasn’t entirely his anymore. He was passing over a baton. At least this time, though, it was his baton that he was passing over. Not, as had happened many times before, his baton with pink fluffy bits and sparkles glued on by Buster Moon.

Speaking of which, the koala was watching on with his friend Eddie. The sheep was warm in his review of everything, clapping and saying that it seemed very promising. Certainly a step up from his compliments before. Moon, meanwhile, looked on nervously. Jack could see him feeling the urge to meddle, but with the agreement that Skye had hustled from him there was nothing he could do.

Skye…

He thought of her a bit, before shrugging it off. She was fine.

.

The second day, more rehearsals took place. Like a smith hitting a piece of iron, folding it to drive out the impurities, Jack carried on his work. There were still a few sticking points, ones he felt he could never get over and would have to live with, but as his creation evolved he grew to appreciate its new form more and more.

It was after he’d wrapped up that he heard someone enter the main theatre and, turning to face the concerned face of Buster Moon, he was pleasantly surprised to see Judy Hopps there instead.

“Hey there!”

“Hi,” he said. “You missed the rehearsal.”

“Maybe I’m keeping away from spoilers,” she said, hopping up onto the stage. “Nick and I will definitely be visiting. I haven’t actually seen one of your solo creations yet, so I’m excited.”

“Good thing to be,” Jack replied, “the whole thing is coming together brilliantly!”

“I can see,” Judy agreed, turning to face the centre stage and letting out a long whistle. To say things had changed since she last saw it was an understatement. It had been bent, broken, damaged and ruined, yet it looked as good as new now. “Skye did a really good job.”

“She did,” he agreed. “-She also came in too late for a rehearsal two days ago, doing the last checks and such.”

“Well,” Judy said, looking over at Jack and smiling. “I guess you can get her front row seats, isn’t that right Mr Boyfriend.”

“That’s  _ sir _ boyfriend,” he boasted, earning a playful shove from Judy for the effort. He rolled with it, literally, doing a back roll before standing up again with a jump and flourish, taking a bow.

Judy nodded. “So, you and Skye, Nick thought it was a joke at first. Said that someone as hard focussed as her wouldn’t… -well, you know…”

“And there’s our secret,” Jack said, winking. “She lives her own life and doesn’t want any help. I’m just there for her to cuddle.”

“And go on double dates with, alongside your two new friends,” she teased. “The hyena and red panda.”

“Haida and Retsuko,” he said, Judy nodding back. He was about to move back to his play when he saw Buster Moon arrive out of the corner of his eye. Knowing that the meddling koala couldn’t see the other bunny, he had a sudden idea. “Say, Judith?” he said loudly, smiling as the suddenly alarmed marsupial turned and fled.

“…-Yes, Jack?” a slightly confused Judy asked, as he turned back to her.

He hadn’t thought this through, had he? Still, he could improvise. “That pair were interested in trying a triple date you know?”

A wide grin grew across her face. “Yeah! That sounds great. Any ideas on what we could do?”

“No.”

“Hmmmm,” she mused, looking down and tapping her foot. “Maybe I could plan something. What kind of things have you done so far?”

“Well, I took Skye to an inter-support group meetup for date one, though it’s not quite her thing,” he said. “Then Haida took us to this art place in the rainforest for an evening picnic, which was nice until it wasn’t.”

“What happened?”

“Skye broke her ankle.”

Judy burst out laughing, bending over with her paws on her knees before looking up again. “Very funny.”

“She was quite hurt, actually.”

Laughing some more, Judy wiped her nose and looked up. “Very good. I’m guessing things just didn’t go to plan then.”

“Well they didn’t, she broke her ankle, Retsuko sprained her wrist and Haida blamed himself.”

Judy looked up at him smiling, before the smile dropped from her face. Her eyes remained wide open though, even as her paw went over her mouth. “You weren’t joking…”

“No.”

“Oh gosh, how did I not know?”

“She doesn’t call a lot,” he replied, Judy rolling her eyes.

“Well why didn’t you call me? I could have helped her.”

He shrugged. “She doesn’t need help.”

“-Her ankle is broken, Jack!”

“She doesn’t want help,” he clarified, before going all proud. “-And I for one am happy to comply with her wishes.”

Judy looked at him silently for a second or two before shaking her head. “Does she have anyone helping her?”

“Unless she called her parents, no.”

“And has she?”

“… Probably not.”

“Then you should he helping her!”

“-But doesn’t want it…” he said, before scowling at Judy. “Remember when you realised you’d been studying the wrong chapter for your finals and had to cram study in just one week? You were dead on your paws and I offered to find a replacement for you in the group so you could focus on it full time. I offered you help, you refused, and now that’s not okay?”

Judy blinked a few times. “That’s not the same Jack.”

“It sounds like it…”

“I could do the cramming, and my theatre,” she said. “-And I did get help. My friend Sharla offered to help with chores around the flat. I explained my situation to my parents, and they sent me some gift hampers to help me get through it. I got help on all the little things, so I could achieve the big things.”

“And should I have helped you? Insisted on booting you from your place on the theatre?”

“I…” Judy began, before looking down. “Jack, she’s your girlfriend. You look after her, like I look after Nick and he looks after me.”

“We’re girlfriend-boyfriend  _ -lite _ ,” he clarified, Judy rolling her eyes in return.

“You still should,” she said, before patting him on the shoulder. “Anyway… Glad to see the production is going well. Nick has been much better since you helped him, and things have been going well since we last saw you.” She trailed off, looking at the hare before smiling. Pulling him into a light hug, she patted him on the back. “Good luck,” she said, breaking away. “And look after your girlfriend.”

She departed, leaving him alone.

.

With his thoughts.

He mused more about tweaks, and changes, and about helping Skye around her house and…

…

-“Why am I thinking about that,” he asked to the air. “You KNOW she doesn’t want any help.” He settled back in his office chair and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest. The sound of clattering jolted him up though, and he saw that he’d knocked a pile of papers off of it. He grumbled, closed his eyes again, and tried to snooze once more.

.

.

The next day, the third since Skye had last visited, Jack got a phonecall. It was from Siwili. She simply asked if he could remind Skye not to ignore her mother. She’d tried to call her and left a message but got not reply, instead just leaving an answer. Jack nodded, and dialled in Skye’s number.

It rung, and rung, and rung…

Before the answer phone message rang out.

“Skye, call your mother,” he said, before hanging up. That should do it. Another day of rehearsals were due and he got through them quickly enough. At the end of it though, he received another phone call.

Haida.

“Hey there!”

“Hi.”

“How are you, and how’s Skye?”

“Good and good.”

“Ah, great,” the Hyena chuckled on the other end. “Retsy’s all healed up now, her paw working fine again, so I’m discharged from helping duties! Heh, I think I embarrassed her little a few times by being a bit too eager, such as asking if I could help her clean her flat given the state it was in. It must have been time for her weekly clean and, when asking if she wanted help, she blushed a bit, knowing she couldn’t manage it herself. Still, she asked me to do it and I did. Ahhh…. Anyway, things seem back to normal for us again, though not for poor Skye of course.”

“She’s fine,” Jack replied, an edge in his voice. “And it wasn’t your fault, and it isn’t your job to look after her.”

“I know,” he said. “Your job, not mine.” There was a pause and a sigh from the other end. “You know, it does sound like a chore, doesn’t it…?”

“Yes!” Jack agreed readily.

“But, at the end of the day, it isn’t. That’s what it means, being in love… Do you know how long I loved Retsuko?”

“I don’t.”

“Neither do I,” he said wistfully. “But it was two or three years, maybe four. Just hanging out with her, being friends, and realising I loved her but didn’t have the guts to confess. Damn, I was mad when it seemed like she was hooked with other men. I was angry at them for taking her, or worried they’d drop her and break her… But the one I was always the angriest with at the end of the day was myself. And then I did confess, but it was too early, she needed time. I was still her friend through that, then through the time this other mammal on a whole different level almost took her and then, one day, she said it was time. It was liked I dreamed, and then I made a mistake and feared I screwed it up!”

“Which you haven’t,” Jack reminded. “We’ve been over this repeatedly.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep this short then. By the end of it, when she was with other men, I could have been angry at them. There was this one I could punch, but it didn’t come to that. You know why? Because… Because being about love isn’t about yourself. Being in love means wishing for the best for whoever it is you’re in love with… Even if the best isn’t you. Even if it means sacrifice. The thing is, though, it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice when it’s for someone you love.”

…

The phone hung up, and Jack slipped it into his pocket. “Damn that was moving,” he said, before hurrying off. “I could build something off of that.”

.

.

…

Writing the whole speech down on a piece of paper, Jack placed it and relaxed, one for the ages. A nice sentiment about true love, boyfriend and girlfriend.

Selflessly caring for them, and looking after, like he could with…

His eyes opened again. “Stop thinking that. She doesn’t want or need it.”

So, he turned back to his work, or his lazing, but his mind kept on straying back. He tried to push the forces out and away, he kept on repeating what he knew, yet why did they keep returning!?

“Stop it,” he scolded, marching out of his office. His feet kicked a pile of old costumes though, and he yelped as he tripped over, his outstretched palms slowing his fall against a stack of prop books. They went everywhere and Jack groaned slightly as he walked over them and out of the door. Maybe some method acting would help clear his mind.

Yet it didn’t.

He kept on coming back to the idea that he should do something which he, categorically, knew he shouldn’t do! “I should make this into a play about peer pressure,” he said out loud, and he started to do so. Grabbing a notebook, he began roughly sketching out the ideas for a play where the characters Haiden and Julie guilted their friend into making a big birthday party for his wife, who specifically didn’t like big parties and such, and in doing so broke their relationship resulting in divorce. After all, didn’t that really happen with that Hollywoo wolf actor…? The Canidean one with the yellow dyed fur and silly stage name. Who’s that dog…?

Jack shook his head and carried on writing.

“There, done!” he said, before throwing it at the floor. He huffed though, as the feeling  _ still  _ returned. Those two had wormed their way into his head, and he knew from at least one that the results of this self-guilt weren’t pretty. Soaked, self-induced slap and leaf-covered not pretty….

Though if he just helped Skye then…

“NO, STOP IT!” He yelled, his voice echoing out into the theatre. He breathed in and out, shaking his head. Why were these mammals messing with him?

…

“You okay?”

His ears raised, and he looked over to see Eddie standing there. The sheep was looking at him curiously. “No,” he answered, the sheep wandering over to sit down beside him.

“I probably won’t be much help.”

Jack snorted. “That’s kind of my problem.”

“Well how come?”

“I’m in a very light relationship with this girl. We went on a double date a while back, where an accident happened and she broke her ankle. She’s fine with it though, scooting about with her crutches and very specifically saying she needs no help. She doesn’t want any. She can get around and even do a lot of basic things just fine.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“Everyone I meet keeps on saying I should be looking after her, helping her, ignoring the fact that she doesn’t want it. I don’t want to either, and we’re both very happy with that.”

“So? Ignore them.”

“I tried to, but now by brain keeps on telling me I should be helping her, even though I know she doesn’t want it. I’d just be a nuisance to her.”

Eddie nodded at that, looking away and chewing for a second or two in thought. “I think I get you.”

“You do?” Jack asked. “So, what do I do?”

“If she doesn’t want help, don’t go about patronising her,” he said. “But there’s nothing wrong with a nice little gift or present here and there, is there?”

Jack paused, thinking. “I guess not…”

“So maybe just give her a little thing to brighten her day up? You show you care about her, but don’t patronise her. I think everyone comes out good from that.”

Thinking, Jack nodded. “That might work,” he said. Not much effort on his part, and it felt like doing a good thing. He stood up and began walking off, it wasn’t like he had much else to do. “Thanks Eddie.”

“Well, don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t.”

“I won’t,” Jack replied, as he exited the theatre. Grabbing his stuff, he guessed that he could pick up something from the nearby Meerkat Markets, though what exactly wasn’t something he had any real idea for.

.

…

“Can foxes eat peanuts?”

After being told that they could, Jack purchased a few helpings of different flavoured ones and put them away in his bag. He didn’t know what to get her, truth be told. She liked petting him, and had a fondness for sweet potato fries in blue cheese sauce. However, none of those things were here, so he’d settle on the nuts. She was a mechanic; he could joke about it.

That done he called a Zuber, the driver directed to the rough area of her store as Jack tried to work out where exactly it was. Thankfully the driver was able to find it on his sat nav and dropped him off outside.

Previously he’d only seen it from afar, but now, after briefly glancing at the various vehicles outside, he walked up to the front door.

It was locked, a sign telling him that the shop was closed.

“Okay,” he said, as he began walking around the back. There were a few other doors and such, all of which were locked. “You’re not in, are you,” he said, as he carried on around. “You’re probably out on a job, as you’re just fine, just as you told me and I told myself.” He’d find a sheltered place to dump the nuts, maybe in one of the vehicles or sheds, and send her a text or something. That would do, and he could kindly inform those other  _ meddlers _ , as that’s what they were, that there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

Good.

So, he set off, only to pause as he noticed something. The rear loading bay door was open. Just a little, lifted a few panels up, but enough. He could get in, and it was closer and less fiddly than the vehicle option. So, he ducked in, finding himself in a large repair area, a pair of cars raised up. “I’ll just find a lounge to put these in,” he said, as he started to walk forwards. He looked around, before a croaking voice cried out.

“-Jack!?”

He froze. “Hi, Skye, I…”

“Thank god it’s you,” she cried, her voice still dry and weak. Scared too, yet hopeful.

“Skye?”

“-I didn’t think anyone would come, I thought… -I thought…” she said, before breaking off, crying. Whimpers and sobs came out, and Jack put the nuts down and scanned about with his ears. Her voice was coming from under one of the cars and, walking forwards, Jack saw two things. The first was that one of the cars was jacked up and located near a service pit. The second was that there were two crutches right next to it. Jack raced over to the edge and looked down at Skye, her state leaving him speechless.

She was on the floor, laying on her side and tensed up, haggard and unkempt, her face looking shrunken and withered. Surveying the situation, he looked straight to her bad foot, seeing the plaster cast still on it. It was her good foot, stuck up in the air, that was the problem, caught in a tangle of wires and cables, held taught by her weight. That was why she was in an awkward position, snared up against the side of the pit, trapped and unable to move. With her hand paws stuck on the ground and her bad foot paw unable to take her weight, the only way she’d be able to untangle herself was with the use of her trapped good foot paw. Unable to get onto that, she had no hope of getting out of there, none at all.

“Help me, please,” she sobbed, whimpering.

“I… How?” he asked, his heart beating faster as he looked around. Her crutches! He ran over, just as she called out.

“Try to loosen the leads or something.”

“How about this,” he urged, bringing the crutches over. He passed them down, one at a time, and she grabbed hold of them.

“Try… Try the leads, please.”

“Okay,” he said, before pausing as he noticed two more things. The first was the overturned trolley in the corner of the pit, the second was the filth around her. He smelt the second one too and gagged, but pushed on, following the leads back. They were a tangle, caught on a bit of metal sticking out of the ground, and he raced over and tried to lift them up. “Can… Can you loosen the pressure just for a sec?”

“Hold on,” she replied, as he heard her moving about, the clicking of her clutches sounded out. He pulled up and out again, before it gave way. He let go as they slipped from his arms and into the pit, the sound of them and a vixen hitting the floor ringing out.

…

There was a sob, and then a cry, like that of a broken child, as the sound of clicking rang out. Skye made her way to the ladder at the end of the pit, holding her crutches in her wrist as she hobbled out. Jack met her at the other side, pulling her and dragging her out as she cried and cried, something he never thought he’d see from her.

She clutched her stomach and whimpered and shook, before looking up at him. Her terrified, red, wavering eyes met his for just a second, before she leapt in, holding him tight, clutching him like a child holding a stuffed toy after a terrible nightmare. He almost felt like the air was being squeezed out of him, but he held on and held back as she rubbed her cheek against his and embraced him, rocking him back and forth as she just cried and cried. “Thank you,” she finally said, in a broken whimper.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**.**

Jack was shaken. This was not the Skye that had left him a few days ago. She trembled and shook as she scooted along, making her way into the part of the building where she lived. Slamming open a door, slumping down hard onto a sink, she turned on the tap and began nursing it like a kit.

She broke off, coughing and spluttering, before reaching for it again. Her throat pulsed with each gulp, before she broke off, gagging. A second gag, and her stomach turned, clear fluid vomiting up from her mouth and into the sink.

The bunny was speechless, but he held back. Skye… Skye would prefer it that way, wouldn’t she?

The vixen leant to the tap and began sipping, slowly but surely. There was a moment or two when she’d pause, holding her stomach and doubling over, but she held it in and, eventually, finished. Her chest rose and fell, in and out as if she’d just finished a run, and she looked at Jack with her wavering kit like eyes. He walked over and, once more, she hugged him. Hugged him and petted him, as she sniffed and began to waver, on the edge of tears.

Jack held her back. She needed it. She deserved it. There was no internal arguing or debate, he just did it.

.

…

“What happened?” he asked quietly, as one of her fingers ran up and down his ear for comfort.

“I was on the trolley,” she said, her voice hollow, weak and distant. “I… -I was just doing some checks, and you don’t need your legs for that, do you? I… -I was doing it by myself, and I felt my good leg get caught in stuff. Those leads, and… and…”

She trailed off and he clutched her tighter. He’d be rocking her but, due to their size, she was the one rocking him. It had the same effect though. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

“I was kicking it to let go, and I felt one of the casters slip into a channel in the floor. I just… -just thought I could wiggle and knock some more, and…”

Jack had to hold his mouth tightly as her claws began pricking his back.

“I remember it slipping. Pain… Then my leg, stuck. I… I tried to get up, but I couldn’t put any weight on my bad leg. I tried, I really… -I really did, but it was agony, and my good leg was caught and wouldn’t come loose…”

“You’re safe now,” he said. “You’re safe. You’re… smelly.”

She choked a little, sniffing a bit. “When I had to go, I tried to move around, but…”

Looking down, Jack noticed the staining on her clothes.

“I’m going to need you to do something,” she said, breathing in and out.

“What’s that?”

“I…” she began, before biting her lip. Jack let go so he could see her fully, her tail wrapping around her body and the tip going into her paws, where it was gripped and tightly fussed with. Her ears folded hard against her head, she took a deep breath in before speaking. “Can you help me shower?”

He nodded. That was just standing around pointing a thing, right? He could do that.

“In the blue cupboard there’s a stool and plastic bag,” she explained, “We can use that to elevate and shield my cast. You can find it while I… -you know.”

Jack nodded, turning around before pausing. “Won’t I be seeing you… _‘-you know_ ’, anyway? If I’m helping you shower?”

“Oh, right,” she realised, saying it quietly. “Just get the stuff please.”

The bunny complied, turning back as she pulled off her shirt, revealing her chest underneath. Like many female mammals, it almost looked muscled, though he knew it was really from her mammaries. She covered the two primary ones at the top with her paws, looking away, before dropping them down to her jeans to undo the buttons. “You’ll see it anyway,” she noted, “and this.” Straining, she began unrolling the jeans and her underwear, Jack unable to help himself from noticing some of the staining. Most of it was along the outside flank of her bad leg, the one she’d been laying on. She struggled to get the jeans past the cast and took a breath in. “Help?” she asked, pathetically. He helped, and off it came, Skye bare in the room in front of him. “Next step, get the shower on and I’ll get in. Switch the top dial to the top two red lines.”

As he stepped in, jumped up to grab the shower head and then leapt again to turn it on, Skye made her way over. She slipped into the base of the shower, putting her leg up and far out, before pointing to the top of her head. She looked miserable and as the hot water hit her head it only got worse, her fur becoming sodden while her ears drooped down pathetically.

Jack held the head there for a second or two, wondering both her reasons for asking him to do things like this that she could easily do, and why he was doing it. The front of his clothes were already getting wet, despite his best efforts, for a start. Skye just sat there, slumping down more, beginning to sniff and cry, and Jack had enough. “Skye, there’s no need to humiliate yourself,” he said, lowering the shower head down so it only hit her shoulders.

“You need to shower me,” she said, bitterly.

“Listen, I know you,” he said. “I am an actor.”

She looked up at him as he lowered the shower head to his chest, her ears folding back as she leant in closer.

“You’re looking at the shower head and leaning in closer, you want it. Shower yourself.”

“No,” she said, her head turning away and her voice cracking. “I can’t.”

“Of course you can and you know…”

“OF COURSE I KNOW IT!” she shouted, sending Jack stumbling back. “Of course I know… Of course…” she continued, as her lips trembled and eyes watered. She looked away, the tears starting, before she doubled over, bawling into her paws. “Of… of… of course I know… I… I… I can do it… I… I… want to… but…”

“Why don’t you do it then!?”

She carried on crying, pausing a little as Jack came over. Letting the shower hit her scalp up close, percolating down through her fur, he gave one of her shoulders a massage. “I… I… Feel like a fucking baby kit… I… I… hate this… I…”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“BECAUSE I HAVE TO!” She screamed out. Jack, having enough, leaped up and turned the shower off, coming in close to hug her. The front of his shirt was soaked, an unpleasant feeling flowing through, but he’d put up with it until the vixen was better. “Jack,” she said, trying to take a calming breath. She began breathing in through her mouth and out through her nose, again and again. “Did you… Did you notice those clothes?”

“No.”

“They’re the same ones I wore when I visited you,” she said. “I… I got home, had lunch. I closed the shop, wanting to go low on customers while I was… -well, you know…” She closed her eyes and choked out a sob. “Then I started working on the car, my foot got tangled, and…”

“Oh Skye,” he gasped, shivering. That was three days, wasn’t it? No food, no water, no wonder she’d gone straight for the tap. She was thirsty, and tired, and filthy and hungry… “I brought nuts.”

“What?” she asked.

“I brought nuts,” he repeated. “Food nuts, as I thought, mechanic: nuts…”

Her whole body shook as she barked out a laugh, before she then looked up into his eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, moving in to scratch under her muzzle.

She nodded, before one of her paws came up to hold his. She looked at him, her gaze turning serious. “Three days,” she said, before looking down. “No food, no water, no way to get out… -Nobody coming around because the shop was closed and I… and I told everyone I could handle it. My… My parents not checking in as I don’t phone them regularly or…” She broke off, sniffing again. “I… I was going to die Jack,” she said, her voice cracking. “I was going to die, and it was _MY_ fault because I can’t accept help from anyone because I’m a stubborn little…”

“Whatever you’re about to say, you’re not,” he said, sighing as he stepped around to her front. As if on a rail, he went straight into her chest, letting her hold her emotional support bunny as she rocked him back and forth.

“Tch…” she chided. “It’s true though… all… -all of it… I had a lot of time to think. I wasn’t ready, Jack. I wasn’t… Not now, not like this. And I… -I remembered my parents and my sister and my friends and you and… and I begged for a second chance. A second chance where… Where I WOULDN’T make the same mistake again. Where… Where I’d ask for help, and then you came in. You come in and you save me and I’m filthy, and there’s a shower, and it’s a place to test… To test myself, and to prove I listened. That… That I kept my promise, and…”

She broke into a sob, Jack feeling her tears on his head, even if they were nothing compared to his soaked front.

“But I hated it. I felt like a stupid helpless kit, even though I wanted this. You were right, it was humiliating, and I saw that shower head and I knew… I knew that I could just take it. It was screaming inside me Jack… Screaming too… To just grab it, and not bother you, and be done even quicker and…” She went silent, looking down at the floor, enveloping Jack as she rubbed his back with her paws. “But what kind of mammal am I if I do that?”

“You’re shivering.”

“I’m cold.

“You need to shower.”

“You need to shower me,” she said, sighing. Her voice dripped with distaste. “Then dress me, then feed me, then tuck me into bed, stick a dummy in my mouth and read me a bedtime story for all the good it’ll do…”

…

“Do you know who you remind me of?” he asked.

“Some mammal in a weird porno you directed?”

Jack harrumphed. “Skye, I’ll have you know that any pornographic material I may or may not have directed, be it for ‘funsies’ or ‘I’m young and needed the monies’, would be distilled love, care and passion, and designed to move you so much you forgot the original purpose of watching it.”

She shook, and he could feel a smile grow on her muzzle. “You didn’t say no.”

“Technically the answer is no. But to be honest, that’s only due to starting the ‘eeny’ on the guy on the left, not on the right, and messing around with reins, bits and saddles and oh my instead. But that’s not the point… -You remind me of Nick Wilde.”

“I thought you were trying to cheer me up.”

“I am.”

“I think that you guys call this part ‘jumping the shark’.”

“I’m doing more of an Aesop which, as is evident, started with a wham line.”

“Hmmm… The more you know.”

“Anyway,” Jack carried on. “I actually met him when Judy was trying to help him out. He was going through some stuff then. Did he tell you?”

“About still feeling like a hustler?”

“Yes,” Jack said, before pausing. “Well actually no. He was trying to get away from that, and he’d convinced himself that he had to. He had to change the way he spoke, the way he acted, the very heart and soul of himself. And he’d been struggling, and got it into his head that he’d been stuck in an act for years. Judy asked me to help hustle him into realising that wasn’t the case.”

“Uh-hu,” she said, pausing. “That… was Nick?”

“Yes, and what we were trying to do was make him realise that he wasn’t stuck in an act. That it was all him, and that was okay. From what Judy said, he’d changed a lot, and there was no need to throw out the baby with the bath water…”

…

“The more I hear about him,” Skye said, sounding unsure. “The more it seems he’s changed. I… -Maybe he went through something like what I did, just now, during the howler plot.” She huffed. “And if he did, well he’s a better fox than I am. He stuck the landing.”

“So did you,” Jack said. “You want to change your ways, don’t you?”

He felt her nod her head and he let go, stepping back. Seeing her as she was, she looked extra pathetic, a half-drowned half-starved embarrassment to vulpine kind. Jack just wanted to see her right. “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.”

Taking a deep breath in, Skye nodded. “Okay then… If you turn it on and bag up my leg, I’ll shower myself.”

Jack nodded. “I could get new clothes.”

“That… I didn’t think about that,” she said, blushing a little. “I’m sorry, I haven’t been having a good day.”

“Well, let’s turn that around then,” Jack said, as he walked in and jumped up, the shower turning back on. Grabbing the bag, he put it over her cast as she worked herself over with the shower head, a massive grin on her face. He left her like that as he walked into her room and picked out a set of clothes for her. As he returned, though, something occurred to him.

He was doing all of this…

It wasn’t something to do with acting.

It wasn’t something he technically had to do…

Was this what Haida was talking about? Duty… Sacrifice not feeling like a chore? He didn’t know. Maybe it was just because there was no one else to look after her…?

Well, there were her parents, but…

…

Jack was at a loss; he couldn’t think of a reason for them not to do it. To call them and absolve himself of this. Yet no urge grew within him to do just that. One phone call and he could take the easy way out, and nobody would be harmed…

Yet…

He shook his head, knocking on the door before coming in the shower room. Skye had finished off, and he brought over her crutches and helped her up as she went into her fur dryer. She could operate it with one paw and was soon done, quickly dressing herself after. “Now,” she said, unsure of herself. “I guess I lie down, relax, and let you take care of me.”

“You lead the way,” he said, as she went into the back room. She only had a little lounge, a window with blinds at the back, two old sofa’s against the wall and a decent TV in the corner. There were decorations here and there though, pictures of friends and family. Settling down on one of the sofa’s, she pulled a blanket over her and snuggled up into herself, tail over muzzle.

Jack looked at her, thinking. “How about those nuts?”

As if to answer, her stomach rumbled. “Yes please,” she said. “Eating a few of them to start off with might help my stomach adjust. I don’t want to throw up.”

Jack nodded, and walked out back to get them, thinking as he did so. She was safe, she was okay, he could leave and be fine with it. The old Jack wouldn’t even debate about it. Yet here he was, wanting to stay. Why… Why?

He paused as he passed the pit where she’d been trapped and sat down, his feet hanging over the edge. She’d thought she would die in there, didn’t she? Alone, thirsty and hungry, regretting the very thing that had defined her…

Yet he, the deus ex machina, had come in to give her a second chance. She’d gone into the pit, been sullied, yet chosen to be reborn. Her character had developed, a shaky development that she herself was trying to work on, yet it was still something big. Something great.

Were this a work of fiction, he’d stick on so that the audience wouldn’t see him as a dick. Yet if he walked out now, there wasn’t anyone who’d see him like that. This was real life though…

Skye was trying to change, and had hoisted the responsibility of helping her onto him, without his consent. Haida would say it was his duty… But based on what they were, it wasn’t.

What would Judy think… Or what would Nick think…

He didn’t know, but he realised something. Both cops had changed. Both had faced the worst part of themselves, reflected in a mirror, and vowed to alter it. They had gone through the same thing, figuratively at least, as she had. It may have been messy in cases, but they all wished to move on.

So, should he too?

.

…

His eyes lingered on Skye’s cart, and he closed his eyes and breathed in. Doing more than the minimum you had to do, outside of acting at least. He could give it a go, couldn’t he?

So, he stood up and marched on, grabbing the bags of nuts and heading back to Skye. He’d give it a try.

“They smell good,” she said, as he past them over. “I’ll take the mild ones for now, try and get my stomach ready for the spicy ones. And bigger stuff. I’m still thirsty, so a jug of water would be great.”

Jack nodded and thought. Bigger stuff… A bigger meal… Old Jack would call take out. It was easy, convenient, cheap… What would putting more effort be like? Well, he guessed, it would be making something yourself. Showing you cared. Maybe something she liked.

“I can get you something else, if you want,” he said. “-Cook it up. What’s your favourite dish?”

Slipping a nut into her mouth, chewing and swallowing, Skye thought for a second or two. “I don’t know. But, if you weren’t here and I was making something…” She trailed off in thought, before her eyes widened. “I know! Pumpkin and hominy soup,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “When I was little and sick, my mother would cook it and spoon feed it to me. It always made me feel better.”

“Right,” Jack said, nodding. “Pumpkin and hominy soup, do you have the recipe?”

“If you give me your phone, I can find it for you,” she said, promptly receiving his phone and beginning to tap away. “You know,” she mused softly. “She’d even spoon feed me when I was ten and eleven, stuck in bed and shivering… I still loved it then, it didn’t make me feel like a kit at all. Funny how things…” She trailed off, handing the phone back over. “I’ve got cans of hominy in the cupboards next to the sink, and some pumpkin in the fridge. There’s a blender on the counter, and a pot drying too.”

“Okay,” Jack said, preparing himself. This would be his first-time cooking in… -he couldn’t remember when, but he’d try. He pulled himself up tall and proud. “Skye, I am here to serve your needs, recreate your childhood bliss, and nurse you back to help.”

“Thanks,” she said. “-Though I still can’t stand the idea of being spoon fed. You can pass on that one.”

Jack nodded and off he went, checking the recipe. It seemed simply enough. Cut, boil and drain the pumpkin, before putting it in the blender. Add the stock, some cream and a mix of spices, then blend and add the hominy. All easy-peasy and a good place to start, he mused, until he got into the kitchen.

For Skye, the counters were a bit tall but not insurmountable.

For him, they were insurmountable.

“Right then,” he said, his eyes about level with the countertop. “How do I…” Looking around, he spotted a small step ladder, likely used by Skye to lift herself further up. Bringing it around, his vision and reach greatly improved, and he leant forwards to grab a jug and fill it with water. He then took it and a glass back to Skye before returning. Grabbing one of the pans, he filled it with water from the tap and…

It was heavy now.

His arms strained as he tried to lift it out from under the tap, just about managing to do so. Pulling it across and closer it became far easier to handle, and he slipped it onto one of the hobs before turning it on. Next step, the pumpkin. Over to the fridge, he found some in the crisper drawer. It was about three-quarters of a green one, and he lifted the heavy thing out, his arms beginning to ache as he took it up the ladder and slipped it onto the counter top.

“-Jack!?”

“Yes Skye?”

“Just to let you know, we always used a can of coconut milk instead of cream. It’s with the hominy.”

Keeping it in mind, he moved on. He brought out a set of scales, and found out that there was three times as much pumpkin as needed, so he grabbed a knife and began cutting. It was hard. The knife was just a bit too big for him, and he had to push and shove to cut through the tough flesh, finally doing so. He groaned though as he realised he’d now have to chop it all up, though…

-It was only the skin that was tough, which he had to remove anyway. Grabbing a nearby peeler, he set to work, finding out just how tough the skin was. He needed to yank back the peeler, and more often than not he only pulled off a small chunk of the skin, the top layer at that. There was a less tough layer beneath that also needed to be removed.

“Right Jack,” he told himself. “They can do it, you can do it.”

And so he did, bit by bit, and slowly but surely hating it more and more. He was hot, the water boiling away right next to him making him uncomfortable. His arms ached, his brain was complaining, he was getting sticky stuff in his paw, which normally wouldn’t irritate him but was. The worst part was his left paw. He had to use it to hold the cutting part of the peeler, otherwise it would just pivot around with each pull of his right paw. But now, after being cut into so much, it was feeling raw. The final insult to injury was that he was only halfway done too.

This was stupid.

He could find a restaurant that could likely make a better soup and get them to order in. It would likely be quicker too. Wouldn’t Skye want that? She was hungry, after all. Starved for three days, her only relief so far coming from a bunch of peanuts.

“I’ll tell her,” he grunted, slipping down and walking back in. She’d probably prefer it, while it was a silly thing on his behalf. Succumbing to peer pressure, sure and simple. Anyhow…

He trailed off as he turned into the lounge, spotting Skye on the phone. Holding it up to her ears, she was speaking into it, her eyes glistening with tears. “I… I know,” she said. “It had been a while, and I’ll stay there a good time to compensate.” There was a pause, then a laugh. “Normally I’d say stuff about how I don’t need it, or that I’m not your little kit any more… -Okay, maybe I am. I have been a bit silly recently. I mean, part of me is still saying those things, but you want to care for me, you get to care for me… BWAHAHAHA…. -Sure you can sign it. Dad can too. Speaking of which…”

Jack looked on, before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. With one swift turn, he marched back to the kitchen. She was serious about putting things right, so he could be serious about something. Just one thing, other than his acting.

Just one thing.

Those words tasted bitter in his mouth as he worked on the pumpkin, finally peeling it all. Cutting it up afterwards was easier, even if it still took a few yanks down for the larger cuts. Climbing onto the counter to peer in, he saw that there was still enough water in there to cook the pumpkin, which he threw in. Hard part over. Grabbing and opening the cans, he put the coconut milk in the blender, alongside the required spices, while rinsing the hominy. Now for the stock, he guessed he’d use one of those cube things. Finding one, he chucked it in, before adding the lid and blending it up. A quick check on the pumpkin, using a slotted ladle to bring some out and a fork to test it, and he guessed it was done. He drained and rinsed it, adding it to the blender, sticking the lid on and letting it rip. That done, checking the temperature, he poured in the hominy and had a taste…

“This is the culinary equivalent of a Buster Moon production,” he said, disappointed at the rank mediocrity of it. So much for the effort, it wasn’t as if there was something he’d missed, was there?

Out of curiosity, he checked the recipe again, pausing as he saw a note about seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, along with some other spices that could be added. Finding the two main ones, plus some paprika in a jar, he started adding them in and tasting, smiling as it turned out quite okay. Finally, grabbing a bowl and pouring it in, he began taking it out to Skye.

She was curled up and sleeping under the blanket, tail over her nose and fluttering slightly with each breath. She looked so much better though, her face far less gaunt. Both the nuts and the water were gone.

Lightly tapping her, he saw her eyes flutter, her nose twitch and sniff, and she slowly uncurled herself. “That smells…” she said, gently taking it in her paws and having a taste. She flinched back, moaning as it hit her tongue, before swallowing it down and turning to Jack. “Thanks,” she said, her voice cracking up a little.

Jack smiled back. She liked it, she liked it a lot! He’d done something and it worked. He felt good. “It wasn’t much.”

“It was something,” she said, taking another spoonful. “Something I didn’t expect from you.”

Jack gave a nervous laugh. “Well, you and everyone else is trying to move on… I thought I’d try to be less lazy, and more like a boyfriend. That’s sort of what I am, isn’t it?”

“Did Haida rub off on you?”

“Him and a few others, including you.”

She nodded. “Haida sounds like a great guy,” she said, taking a few more spoonful’s. “If I’d… If I ended up dying, in there…” She trailed off as she said it, putting the soup down. “The poor guy would beat himself up about it. He’s perfect for Retsuko.”

“They’re a good match.”

“Like us.”

“Are we though?” Jack asked, a bit sceptically. He sighed. “Haida was chewing himself off over all these things, while I ignored it all. I only came here after getting nagged and nagged. When cooking that soup, I gave up at one point and was going to call takeout. I… -I’m not really good boyfriend material, and… I’m trying… I feel like I want to try and do more now. It felt good going above and beyond, helping you with that soup. But it’s just baby steps.”

Skye smiled. “You do know that I got up at one point, I was hearing you struggle with the cutting or peeling, and I had the urge to save you the effort and do it myself?”

“No,” he whispered.

She nodded and looked away. “Before all this, I think the two of us were good for each other. We both gave what the other wanted. We’ve changed now, but I think we still do that.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he nodded his head. “You need to accept more help and let go, I need to take on more stuff myself.” He smiled. “I think you’re right.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, taking another spoonful of food, savouring it. “And I need my emotional support bunny. These last few days were quite emotional.”

“I can imagine,” Jack replied, as he walked forwards and into her lap. She unbuttoned her shirt, pulling him close so she could feel the heat from his body, before rubbing and petting with one paw, the other feeding herself. It didn’t take long for her to finish it all, and they laid down with each other. Jack slipped his shirt off, so it was fur against fur, and they embraced cuddled and talked.

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“Let’s have a slothfieldian conversation.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a talk about nothing.”

“But we’re talking about something. We’re talking about a slothfieldian conversation.”

“Ah, Skye, but if we were in a piece of fiction, then it wouldn’t have any point in relation to the plot. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a conversation about nothing.”

“But it’s still telling everyone what a slothfieldian conversation is.”

“Skye,” Jack said, aloofly. “Maybe ‘about nothing’ is in a metaphoric sense?”

“I’m a mechanic. Metaphor things are dumb. It should be called a conversation about random stuff instead.”

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…

“A potato tank!?”

“Yup, I got an old golf caddie and converted it over the summer, adding ‘armour’ and a potato cannon. My Dad gave guidance and notes, but he encouraged me to do most of it myself.”

“Maybe that’s where you got it from,” Jack suggested. He’d been laying on her chest, ears laying on her fur and hearing the engine-like beat of her heart, but he looked up to see her reaction.

“Probably, though if that’s the case, why doesn’t Sweetie have it?”

“Sweetie?”

“My sister, or rather our nickname for her; her birth parents gave her a truly terrible name,” she replied, gesturing up to one of the nearby pictures. Jack saw Siwili standing next to a swift fox todd, two younger vixens in front of them. One was evidently Skye, while the other was a red fox vixen with very pointed features. She looked very prim and proper, especially with her sharp rectangular glasses.

“Adopted, I see.”

“Grey and swift foxes can’t breed,” she said, quietly. “But that worked out for the pair of us nicely.” She paused, as she looked down. “I’ll be staying with my parents while my leg heals… But feel free to visit.”

“Maybe when I’m at a higher boyfriend standard,” he said, pausing. If this was going serious, he’d have to mammal up quite a bit to do that. Despite the glowing embers of a drive that had been lit in him, the road ahead felt long and daunting. “We can still date.”

“With Haida and Retsuko. Maybe Nick and Judy too.”

“I could try planning it.”

“Just not something like those Inter meetups,” she said, moving down to brush his head fur a little with her claws. “Not my kind of thing.”

“I’m not being lazy anymore,” Jack replied. “I’d try something more creative…”

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Bringing his phone out so both could see the lyrics, Jack began singing, his voice hitting a dark and cunning baritone. _“Val Jean, at last! We see each other plain. Monsieur Le Mayor, you’ll wear a different chain.”_

_“Before you say another word Jack -Jav-vert… Javer! Before you chain me up like a slave again…”_

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…

“How about we say the worst thing we ever did?” She pondered.

“-What do you mean, worst thing?”

“Like, crimes and stuff.”

“Are you going to tell me you have ammunition for that A-A gun?”

She sniggered. “Don’t be crazy. No, the worst thing I ever did was prank call an entire tribe.”

Jack smiled, he knew the perfect act and response for this. “Hmmmm… Kinky.”

“I was only eight though, so it was more me calling them stinky heads.”

“Did they deserve it?”

“Totally. They broke my mother’s heart.”

Jack paused, looking up at Skye and around. Pumpkin and hominy soup, the dreamcatchers here and there, a little statue up in the corner to ward off The Thunderbird. Given Siwili’s name, and how she embraced it more… “What did they do to her?”

“They were her tribe,” she said, sadly. “She loved the culture, but when she met my dad, she loved him more…”

“They threw her out?”

“Looking back, I guess that they thought she was throwing out all the connections anyway. Leaving a struggling tribe for a mammal of a different species, a soldier in the army of the nation that they view as the oppressor… But they were still stinky heads.”

“Cool. I’m continually committing benefits fraud.”

After briefly being subjected to her best earthquake impression, Skye managed to stop coughing and shaking so much to ask Jack what the hell he meant by that.

“You know I said that I’m a tehuantepec jackrabbit?”

She nodded her head. “Wait, so you’re not, but you’re claiming the benefits for an endangered species!?” she asked, a hint of shock and anger in her voice.

Jack gulped. “Well I actually am one, kind of.”

Skye blinked. “What do you mean, kind of?”

“I mean kind of. Half and half…”

Her eyes widened. “You’re a hybrid…”

“My mother was a tehuantepec jackrabbit. She put it on my birth certificate, and legally I am one,” he said, before sighing. “But it became clear that I was different from my family. More stripes, much greyer fur. When I was a kit, my ‘father’ treated me like I didn’t exist. When I confronted him, he said that I reminded him of her betrayal, and that if I wanted a father figure I should ask her to find it… -She slept around, a lot, so I still don’t know what my other half is.”

“So, I guess that you never informed the government.”

“No,” he said, shrugging. “Legally, I’m only forced to do that if I have a DNA test or medical confirmation that I’m only half endangered. They actually can’t charge me for failing to check that I was given the right species at birth.”

“So, you’re staying safe, then,” she said, “playing the system. Why not come clean?”

He sighed. “Endangered species protection is harsh. I only get half the benefit if I’m a hybrid, it’s to try and encourage the species to stay within their numbers. I… -Being in my line of works, things can be good one year, lean the next. But a tight year forces you to drop out, and then it’s over. I’ve had a good few of those years in the past, they’ll happen in the future. The full payments are what lets me get through it all.”

“So, integrity or your passion?” she noted, as he nodded. Closing her eyes, she thought about it. “Given that you not getting the full stuff does seem unfair to me, I’ll forgive you,” she said. “But if your secret is confirmed, you throw it in, okay?”

“Okay,” he said, nodding his head.

“Promise?”

“I always planned to do that. Promise.”

Nodding her head, Skye pulled him in closer, giving a good few strokes. “My hero hybrid. You should get extra.”

“Shame I don’t. The only plus side of being a hybrid is that they will fund any hybrid fertility programs, as long as it’s isolating and producing more of the rare kind. However, I don’t even know if I’m fertile or not.”

“You want any kits?”

He snorted. “I wouldn’t know where to start. My baby is acting. I probably wouldn’t give a real baby anywhere near enough time. What about you?”

“Sometimes I feel like I have a baby shaped hole in me. But I think I’ve found a hare sized peg.”

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…

“I’m thinking of babies again.”

“Baby steps, Skye.”

“It’s more the friend's baby shower. She already has a son, but he’s fourteen, so she’s having a new one.” Pausing, Skye looked down. “Want to come?”

Jack thought about it, before nodding. “Why not?” It was something extra. He had no connection to them. No one would hate him if he quit and didn’t spend the effort. So why not try?

“You have changed,” she said, softly.

“Some things happened.”

“It was the same with her, the friend,” Skye said, closing her eyes and thinking. “She learnt about her first pregnancy, and then that a fellow graduate in the rangers was picked up and taken off by an eagle. Sweetie was in his squad…. She tried to find him, all they got was an eye. Nothing else at all. So, Felicity left, dragging her fellow-ranger husband with her.”

“Was your sister okay?”

“Shaken, yes, but she managed,” Skye admitted. “She actually joined the rangers on advice from my Dad. Get some experience and acclimation before she committed to the army proper. She was far more into data and organising you see, but the army needs to supply every soldier with rations and equipment, every day… They needed mammals like her, and she’s more of a mammal’s mammal than I am. Good at organising others, which is how she rose up. She even goes by her old family name, no matter how dumb it is, to avoid accusations of nepotism.”

“Going to meet her when you’re with your family?”

“She’s still out in Korea,” she said sadly. “Will be for a while.”

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“Skye, have you watched the Clawshank Redemption yet?”

“No.”

“Right then!” Jack announced, slipping off her and over to the TV. “Education time.”

“Wait, -I didn’t know it was a documentary.”

“It’s not. I’ll just put it on and play, okay?

“Okay.”

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…

“Wait, hang on… No-no-no-no-no-no-yes!”

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…

 _Sniff… Snifff_ “Poor Brooks…”

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“He’s like teenage Nick but somehow more annoying.”

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“Oh my god… This is his chance…”

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“WHAT! SCREW YOU!”

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“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

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“Oh god, I can’t look, I can’t look…. “

…

“What do you mean he’s gone!?”

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“YES!!!!!”

…

“YES!YES!YES!!!!”

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“THAT’S KARMA!!!!”

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 _Sniff… Sniff…_ “That’s Karma… That, that…” Unable to find the words, Skye just clapped. “Thanks Jack, I… -We should do this more often.”

“My dear Skye,” he said, in a very hammy posh accent. “It would be my humble honour and privilege to sacrifice my time and energy in the noble of pursuit of updating your film repertoire.”

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“I’m hungry,” she said.

“I can warm up the last bowl of soup.”

“Hmmm. I think I’m ready for something meatier.” She said, pondering as she watched the next film, Zoofella’s. “I… -Oooh, this is where they do the long walk through the kitchen?”

“Enjoying the wonders of reverse cultural osmosis are we?”

“I guess, -what about ostrich ribs?”

“If you want,” he said, smiling as the mobster and his date carried on through the kitchen.

“I know a great place. Adam’s ribs. It’s tastegasmic.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.”

“With every order?”

Skye nodded, before her ears raised. “Every time, Jack. Every time…”

Jack looked at her, at the screen, then back again, amazed. “You…”

“Did you proud, film bun?”

“-Yes.”

“Are you going to kiss my like no other boy did before?” she whispered softly.

“I should have seen that coming,” he said with a wink, leaning in to give her a peck on her nose. Still on her chest, he couldn’t help but feel her heart beat faster and, far below, her tail wag a bit. Looking up, he saw her lean in and give his own nose a quick peck, before her tongue came out and gave the fur between his eyes a single deep groom. It was a strange feeling, but a good one. A very good one. “How much of that could you do before the food gets here?” he asked, smiling. His grin widened as he felt her heart beat and tail wag even faster.

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“You should try some,” she said, moaning as she picked a bone clean.

“It’s not good for me,” the currently very well-groomed and very happy about it hare replied.

“Come on.”

“Skye,” he said, going all aloof. “While I do indeed want to take on more stuff outside of acting, medical problems are not one of them.”

“A little bit won’t harm you,” she said. “There are some hares that eat lots of meat. The Efrafans, I think… My sisters’ old partner, the one who died, was one. Her current second in command is too. She writes home about the crazy ‘Inle-Roo’ she bosses around.”

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“Oh-my-god-Skye-these-are-incredible-what-have-I-been-missing-my-entire-life-is-a-lie…”

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“I have a crazy idea,” Jack pondered. “Something ‘extra’ I can do.”

“Which is?”

“How much effort would it be to arrange a delivery of these ribs to your sister?”

“You plan to ship ostrich ribs, which are often cooked in the local style there anyway, to Korea, at great expense?”

“Yes.”

“Let me repeat that. You plan to ship ostrich ribs, which are often cooked in the local style there anyway, to Korea at great expense?”

“They are Adam’s ribs.”

…

“Jack, there is literally no argument against that. Be my guest.”

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“And done! Ordered, sent on their way, all paid for and… What’s with that face.”

“It’s the face when I remember why I like to do things myself.”

“Why… What have I done wrong?”

“You forgot the coleslaw! And he _literally_ just told you not to use the phone, lady! He’s now going to be arrested. He’s now going to be arrested. He now… -See, told you!”

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The mini film fest ending, Skye yawned. She’d had it rough, she was tired, but she was happy. She snuggled against Jack, holding him tight. “Thanks,” she said.

“It was nothing.”

“You saved my life,” she said, smiling as she looked at him, a little tongue preen coming out and touching one of his ears. “So, unless you’re a secret agent or something, I don’t think it is.”

“Skye,” he noted proudly, sitting up above her. “I happened to be walking past and merely supplied my aid. My real achievement was making you that soup!”

“I’d say that’s a close second,” she whispered, raising up her paw and stroking the back of his head. “I never asked that of you… I’d never ask you when we started dating... But you chose to do it anyway. Thanks.”

“Well, it really wasn’t much,” he said, thinking about it truthfully. He had a long way to catch up with other mammals. “But we can keep seeing each other, and keep helping each other, and keep hugging each other.”

Skye chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Jack nodded, before an idea came into his head. After all, Skye was trying to accept more helping paws, and let others do things she could do. He was trying to do more than his passions. This sort of was a passion, but what the hell?

He leant in and down and his lips touched Skye’s. Seeing what he was doing, she held onto the back of his head, her other paw clutching beneath his rump and tail, and she held onto him as she kissed back. The little dance was brief and simple, yet time seemed to slow as they touched and caressed each other, their love flowing back and forth with thrusts of their tongues, her long and roughly combed one coiling and snaking around his own as it wrapped it in its love. Claws dug in, fur rubbed, teeth playfully nipped and eyes were closed but the world felt bright and good, and then they let go, gazing into each other’s beautiful eyes.

“Thanks for that,” she gasped, kissing him on the forehead before leaning in to give his head a good tongue groom, one that quickly moved up to the front of one of his ears. In between his shaking, twitching, moaning, foot-kicking and chittering, he snuggled further into her, hugging her tight until they called it a day. He booped her on the nose, they hugged each other, their paws lingering in each other’s for a noticeably long time before finally slipping off, and they parted for the night. He called a Zuber, placed everything into her dishwasher, before saying goodbye.

The drive back was quiet as he thought to himself.

It had been a very funny day, but he felt that he was on the cusp of something. He’d always been an actor. It was his heart, his soul, his very being. Everything had been focussed towards that, all other things ignored. Yet he felt them opening up on him. It felt daunting, for sure, but he didn’t think he could step back now.

He felt like something had changed in him. Part of him still wanted to relax and be lazy, and, after seeing both Nick and Skye, he knew that there was nothing wrong with that. No need to throw out the baby with the bathwater. But there were important things out there, things that he held responsibilities towards. Ones that he’d try to meet. It would need a lot of work, effort, and perseverance to see it through, but he’d do it. Starting with some baby steps and working his way up, he’d try his damn best.

Arriving back at the theatre, he yawned as he walked to his office. He could sleep in there tonight. Opening the door, he stepped in, only to pause.

…

For all the times he’d walked into here and defended it, or dismissed others concerns, he now asked himself how he could do that. The floor couldn’t be seen, the smell of rotting food was in the air, papers and books and old clothes were scattered about. He…

“This is a big step,” he said. “Maybe get some practice first?”

After all, he was still weak at this whole thing. If keeping this room clean was like rolling a boulder up a hill, at least he should know that he could move said boulder to begin with. He could just leave it be, maybe put it in as a low priority.

Sure…

Of course he could…

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…

Dammit,” he said, grabbing a bin bag and moving over to a stinking plastic cup, the bottom half filled with mold. He tossed it in and looked around, his ears drooping at the sight of the task at paw. He’d likely only scratch the surface, even after spending hours on it and making his whole body ache from the effort. Most of him was screaming at him to give it up, to leave it, but… “I hate this,” he groaned, beginning to pick up more rubbish. “This is going to suck.”

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**AN: And there we go. Actually one of the latest additions to the series 1 plan, this came in after I finalised Jack’s ‘lazy’ personality. I wanted the Zootopia four to be unique, with nuanced characterisations that played against each other well. Skye originally had her own arc in season 1, with Jack’s big arc starting in season 2. After working out their personalities though, I realised that there were very easy season 1 arcs that could be given to them. Skye needed to learn to accept the help of others. Jack needed to decide to get some motivation going. The obvious choice was to have Skye go into a situation where she needed Jack’s help and going from there.**

**The poor girl went through a lot here, so I hope the second half of gooey SavageSkye fluff was enough to put a smile on your face.**

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4077 Military Area Surveillance Headquarters.

Ihyeon-Yi. South Korea.

About Lunch time.

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Far away from Zootopia, a massive black hare entered a mess tent. Dressed in the traditional battle kilt of his people (which, as repeated ad nauseum, was not part of some long ongoing plot to earn a section 8 discharge), and with a family sickle sword on his belt, the Efrafan sniffed around before approaching his fellow soldiers. They were selected from a wide variety of different units, species and nationalities, just like he’d been, and they were all looking on, wide eyed, as plates of food were being laid out. He passed the friendly base priest, Father Mulcaty, who was talking with a massive horse by the name of B J Buttercup, before approaching his commander. “Lieutenant,” he said, giving her a short sharp salute. “Are these the famed delicacies of your homeland?”

His vulpine superior smirked a little, her tail going up into her paws for a little fidget. “I’m afraid our benefactor forgot the coleslaw, Raibert,” she said. “But these are the very ‘Adam’s Ribs’ that I’ve talked about.”

Sergeant Jacob Emmanuel Raibert looked at the meaty feast and salivated, something that no longer drew concerned looks from his fellow herbivores given his well-known taste for meat. “It will be a true honour then, to sample this delicacy of your people, Vixen-Ra.” He leant in to take a bite, only to be cut off as another mammal burst into the tent. He was a panicked fennec fox, his giant ears the source of his nickname.

Buttercup spoke up. “What’s up, Radar?”

“DPRK tunnel party approaching the surface two miles east,” he said. “We need to get going!”

There was a collection of groans as the assembled mammals put down their plates and raced out. Raibert looked blankly at it all. “But it’s Adam’s Rib’s!!!” he groaned, before he scowled. He grabbed his gun and, cursing a variety of Efrafan expletives, charged out.

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**AN: And thanks for Ubernoner for letting me cameo his OC, Jacob Raibert, here. If you haven’t read ‘Son’s of Efrafa’ yet, read ‘Sons of Efrafa’.**

**Author's Note:**

> .  
> .  
> AN: A shout out to Crewefox for letting me cameo his OC. After featuring plenty of Cimar's server back in 'So we're inters now' I thought I'd give a bit of the TAS crew a spotlight too.


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